“Celebrating all God’s creatures”

08/10/2017

Earlier today we went with Stanley and Jaffa to a Pet Blessing service at All Saints ChurchIt’s a service which recalls the feast of St. Francis that falls on the 4th October.

St. Francis of Assisi is remembered for his love of creation and all God’s creatures.We went to take our seats in the pewWe got there before many of the others arrived.And then they came … The service began with the hymn – “Morning has broken” when this guy decided to sing along.But it didn’t matter – we were all there to be blessed and a little howling and barking wasn’t going to stop us from being blessed.

Then one by one, we went up the aisle towards the Vicar to be blessed.That’s Stanley getting blessedAnd Jaffa George and I did too but there wasn’t anyone to take our photos. 🙂

There was a reading from the Bible – Genesis Chapter 2:

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

And guess what? He named us D-O-G – and we turned out to be man’s best friend … that’s G-O-D spelt backwards!

May’s comment:So lovely to see so many dogs (and a hamster) at All Saints Church today. Reminding us to be good stewards for all God’s creatures.

And we all said our vows:

Will you care for your pet as God’s own creature? I will with God’s grace.

Will you love and protect your pet as long as it lives? I will with God’s grace.

Will you be faithful and kind in good times and in bad? I promise to be so faithful.And a final prayer:

Holy God, whose loving care extends to all living things; bless and protect these creatures which you have put into our hands and help to cherish their lives knowing that all life is precious in your sight. AMEN.

Thank you Annie, Andrew and Stanley, for always remembering to ask us to be a part of this special service.All Saints Church, is the ancient parish church of Fulham, in the County of Middlesex pre-dating the Reformation. It is of Anglican denomination. At Pryors Bank, Bishops Park, Fulham, London SW6 3LA

3 Comments

Thank you for posting such a lovely story. I am apart from Ellie (my cockapoo always in pink) at the moment in hospital so it is particularly nice & comforting to read. Looking forward to the next meet up if health allows. Thank you again May . Best wishes jackie